


From the Unpublished Journal of Amateur Sociology: On Human-Android Relations

by FrolickingDirtChild



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Gen, POV Character of Color, Platonic Relationships, intercultural friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 02:46:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5810593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrolickingDirtChild/pseuds/FrolickingDirtChild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geordi's account of how his relationship with Data evolved as they got to know each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From the Unpublished Journal of Amateur Sociology: On Human-Android Relations

Data and I have a relationship like I've never had with anyone else, like I've never heard of two people having, although I'm sure they have. I'm not even sure what to call it. Usually I say we're friends, but that doesn't even begin to cover it.

I guess you could say it started to be something new that day in his quarters when I was watching him paint and Spot knocked over several paint bottles on the table I was leaning against. Clever cat somehow managed to avoid getting any on his fur. I replicated fresh clothes and was about to duck into the bathroom to change, when something occurred to me: Why? It's considered polite not to take your clothes off in front of other people, generally, but Data isn't like other people. I didn't need to act like he would react to things the way a human would, because often he didn't. Maybe I was even doing our relationship a disservice by constraining it to human expectations. So I asked. "Do you mind if I change?"

"Change what?"

"Change my clothes," I answered, holding up the clean set.

"I do not see why you need my input on the issue. It seems logical to change when one's clothes are soiled."

"I meant, do you mind if I change right here? Usually I'd go into another room to change, so you wouldn't get embarrassed, but I guess that doesn't happen to you. Of course, if you prefer, I'll change in the bathroom."

"Oh. No, it would not bother me."

So I stripped down to my underwear, put the dirty clothes in the replicator, and put on the clean ones. Data's eyes never left me, but I reminded myself that he wasn't thinking any of the things I might worry a human was thinking. He wasn't attracted to me, he wasn't disgusted by me, he wasn't judging me at all. He was just observing, the way he usually observed people. But it was hard not to feel insecure, so I asked again. "What were you thinking, just now, when I was changing?"

"I was calculating the engine efficiency we gained in today's maintainence, considering a few possible subjects for my next painting, recalling the joke Commander Riker told last night--"

I should have seen that coming; I know how his positronic brain works. "Let me be more specific," I interrupted. "What were you thinking about me?"

"I was observing the way you moved and wondering how many years it took to learn to move so fluidly, and how it felt when you were still developing your motor skills. I don't remember that part of my own development. I noticed how you held the shirt while you were taking it off so as to avoid spreading the spill. You must have been making quick calculations the whole time, but as I understand it, you are unaware of such mental processes. You put your pants on before your shirt, and I wondered if you always did it this way. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Data, I guess it's because I felt self-conscious and I wanted to be reassured that you weren't judging me."

"I was not aware that there were standards for clothes-changing on which to base a judgment."

"That's not quite what I was thinking. If you were human, I would worry that you were judging my body. If you were human, I might think the way you watched me indicated sexual interest, and since I hadn't indicated a similar interest in you, it would have been rude of you to watch me so intently. But you're not human. You're so close that sometimes I forget, but today I thought maybe I could learn something by making room in our relationship for your unique culture instead of trying to hold you to human customs."

"Am I correct in concluding that you are not offended by my watching you, since I am not human and do not feel sexual attraction? It is never my intention to do anything which would cause you unease."

"I know, Data, and yes, you're correct. When it's just us, I want you to feel free to be yourself. It may take me some time to get used to it, but I think it'll be worth it."

\---

When I found out my mother had died, everyone came by to offer me condolences. I appreciated their concern, but mostly I didn't want them to know how I was feeling. I didn't want to seem vulnerable to my superior officers, nor to the people who worked under me in engineering. I talked to Councelor Troi about it, because that's her job, and there's no sense trying to hide your feelings from an empath, anyway. But when Data came over and asked if I wanted company, I took him up on the offer. My vulnerability is a constant for him, I suppose. Biological creatures are so much more fragile than he is, and our emotions make us unpredictable sometimes. I figured letting him in could only help him understand, and that was the thing he wanted most. So I invited him in and suggested he join me on the couch. I told him stories about my mother and tried to explain what I loved about her. I cried a bit. I was worn out and lonely, so I slid closer to him and laid my head on his shoulder. He brought his arm around to stroke my hair. I imagine if someone had been watching, they would have said he did it awkwardly, but at the moment, I was only thinking about how comforting it felt. "Thank you," I whispered.

"As always, you are welcome, Geordi." After so much time with him, his peculiarities of speech no longer pulled me from the illusion that he was human; they just seemed like a quirk.

I woke up in my bed a couple of hours later. Data was sitting by my bedside, watching me. I probably looked confused; he explained himself in a half-apologetic tone.

"You fell asleep, and I did not want to wake you, but I have heard that sleeping with ones head at an irregular angle can cause muscle cramps, so I moved you. I wasn't sure what you usually wore to bed, nor how comfortable you would be with my disrobing you, so I only removed your shoes. I hope you did not find your uniform uncomfortable to sleep in. I was unsure whether I should leave, but I did not want you to wake up and feel lonely or abandoned. Furthermore, I have no obligations at this hour, so I decided there was no harm in staying with you. I would appreciate hearing your preferences, in case a situation like this should arise again."

I laughed at his characteristic thoroughness of thought. I imagine he experiences something akin to frustration in social situations like these, where he sees many possible actions but doesn't have much to go on for choosing between them. "Well, I usually sleep in a nightrobe, but if I'm really tired, sometimes I just take off my uniform and sleep in my underwear. I suppose I wouldn't mind if you changed my clothes while I was asleep, but I don't mind if you don't; the uniform isn't that uncomfortable. I'd understand if you had something else to do, but if it's all the same to you, I ... I would rather ... I'd rather you spent the night with me. But you don't have to sit up all night; you could ... it would be okay for you to ... for you to lie next to me. You can run your dream program if you like."

While I spoke, Data watched me intently. At another time, I might have wondered how his positronic brain was categorizing this information and comparing it to what he already knew, but that night I was exhausted. When it was clear I was finished speaking, he tilted his head the other way and responded, "I noticed your difficulty in articulating some things. May I enquire as to your reason? It is not my intention to make you feel pressured to violate your cultural norms."

"I don't feel pressured, Data. It's just hard to admit what we want sometimes. I've always been taught not to appear too vulnerable, but I decided to throw out the rules when it's just the two of us. I may not be comfortable with it yet, but I'm sticking with that decision. Now I think I'll change and have some tea before I go back to sleep. It would be nice if you stayed, but I have to ask you something first." I sat up and went to the dresser to get a nightrobe as I said this and waited for his response.

"I will stay. Ask what you will."

As I changed, I made my request. "Could you keep this between us? I don't want the rest of the crew to get the wrong idea. Don't mention anything we do that you don't do with others. If someone asks you about coming out of my quarters in the morning, just say you stopped by before duty. Don't offer up too much information; simple lies are the best."

"I think I understand your request, although I do not understand your reasons. I will gladly comply, Geordi. Your friendship is valuable to me."

"I love you, too, Data." I ordered a tea from the replicator. "You can go to bed now if you like. I'll join you when I finish this," I said, holding up the cup.

Data laid on the side of the bed unrumpled by my recent nap and initiated his dream program. I watched him while I drank my tea from the same chair he had sat in while I was sleeping. As I watched him lying there motionless, I tried to wrap my head around what had happened between us. I felt like an anthropologist studying a newly-discovered group of people. When I went to bed, I laid closer to him than I wanted to admit, and my sleep was untroubled.

\---

Sometimes I idly wish I could be attracted to Data. I think how convenient it would be to have my best friend become my lover. I suspect if I were interested, he'd be open to sexual experimentation. I already don't have to be self-conscious around him. I could ask for anything I wanted without worrying about what he'd think. Our relationship wouldn't have to conform to any rules; we could make it up as we go along. Maybe I could be with him and also be open to other relationships, because he doesn't feel jealousy. Maybe I wouldn't expect him to meet my emotional needs, because that's something he doesn't always know how to do. We could have whatever emotional connection we had, and when I wanted genuine empathy or the kind of advice he can't give, I'd go to a friend. I'm not saying it would just be detached sex, but it wouldn't be quite how we usually imagine relationships, either. 

But I also wonder if I could really be okay with that. Maybe it would always feel like a poor substitute for the kind of relationship I really want. Maybe I'd feel like I was using him, like the relationship was unbalanced because we wouldn't get the same things out of it. Even if he told me it was worth it for him, would I think I was getting more out of it than he was, and so it wasn't fair? Maybe I'd feel slighted that he can never truly love me. So maybe it's better this way; I guess I'll never know.

When I really stop to think about our relationship, it seems so complicated. There are so many things that are subtly different about being friends with another life form. But when we're together, it seems so simple. We act the way we want, and it feels so natural and comfortable that I don't even think about how different we are. When we talk, I don't think about how much faster his brain works. When he puts a hand on my shoulder, I don't think about how he could pick me up and throw me across the room. But when I'm alone, I think about these things and wonder if he's always conscious of them, if they keep him from having the freeing sort of experience I feel around him.


End file.
